Stephen King has influenced his fair share of horror filmmakers. In titles where you might least expect it, you’d no doubt see at least one brief Stephen King homage or easter egg. Midnight Mass is Mike Flanagan’s unofficial take on Salem’s Lot. David Lynch’s Lost Highway is dripping with King’s precise attention to surreal detail. Carlota Pereda’s Piggy is the best Carrie adaptation that isn’t actually a Carrie adaptation. Whether the King moniker is attached or not, his influence remains everywhere in the horror world.
One cult-classic you might not expect to have King’s influence all over it is Greg McLean’s critically maligned Wolf Creek. McLean’s exploitation shocker boasts a rare F-Cinemascore from opening weekend audiences. Christmas Day probably wasn’t the best time to unleash John Jarratt’s Mick Taylor onto audiences, but Dimension Films did, and luckily, we now have an entire franchise centered around Taylor’s violent malice. Wolf Creek is streaming free now, and beyond the obvious King inspiration, the title further boasts a recommendation from the master of horror himself. Learn more below:
Per Tubi: Backpacking friends break down in the Australian Outback and become the prey of a sadistic bushman killer whose offer of help becomes hell on earth.
In an interview about the Wolf Creek series that aired in 2016, creator Greg McLean remarked to ComingSoon that with Stephen King, there’d probably be no Wolf Creek at all. We have King to thank, then, for the ongoing Ozploitation series, and should the third film ever see the light of day, our gratitude will be renewed. I love this series, frankly. It’s wildly unpleasant, and it’s not a series I’m often keen to revisit, but it’s the best work McLean has ever helmed, and Mick Taylor is a horror villain for the ages. This is violent, grim, and nihilistic horror cinema at its best, and if you can stomach it, I’d urge you to check it out streaming free on Tubi.
After all, beyond simply inspiring the movie, King himself is an avowed fan. Several years ago, the horror master was asked about his favorite Australian horror movies, and Wolf Creek was ranked at number one. You can check out King’s tweet in full below:
Wolf Creek. I think that was the name of it.
Wake in Fright
Picnic at Hanging Rock
all the Mad Max movies
that one about how “the dingo ate my baby.” Meryl Streep.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 26, 2020
What do you think? Are you a fan of Wolf Creek? The sequel, Wolf Creek 2, is also streaming free, so why not make a nasty weekend of it? When you do, be certain to let me know what you think over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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